South Korea’s New Leap Fund does not check whether applicants hold virtual assets before forgiving eligible debt, raising concern that borrowers with the means to repay could receive relief. The program supports individuals and sole proprietors delinquent for more than seven years with unsecured principal debt of 50 million won ($36,100) or less. The issue was reported on September 29 by Financial News, citing Korea Asset Management Corp. data submitted to Kim Jae-seop, a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. Kamco says it relies on post-review reporting to identify concealed assets and can claw back forgiven amounts or seek damages, but it has found no such case after debt cancellation. An audit of the similar New Start Fund found 269 recipients with at least 10 million won ($7,200) in virtual assets, including one borrower who held about 430 million won ($311,000) and received 120 million won ($86,900) in relief. The Financial Services Commission said it would discuss verifying applicants’ holdings with virtual-asset service providers, but New Leap Fund still does not perform that screening.